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Sergio Perez says there is âno loyaltyâ in Formula 1 after he was not kept on by Racing Point for its rebrand into Aston Martin, despite having helped Lawrence Stroll buy the team when it was Force India. Perez said: "It was difficult. I had a three-year contract with the team, obviously with options in it, and my future was going to be with that team... But then obviously Sebastian came available. A four-time world champion became available, and I understood this is how the sport works... So he had an option. He didn't renew it, and then he went for Sebastian. I was like, 'Look, there is no loyalty in this sport.' I didn't take it personally."
Max Verstappen says Red Bull must stop its car losing performance across a grand prix weekend, calling it a âbig priorityâ for the team heading into the summer break. Verstappen said: "We need to first find more overall performance. Then we need to fix our problems, where we sometimes just lose performance over a weekend, or even from the start of the race to the end. So, yeah, that is also actually a big priority."
Aston Martin team boss Adrian Newey says he expects the team to continue its relationship with Fernando Alonso beyond 2026, with the double world champion out of contract at the end of this season. Newey said: "Obviously, Fernando is an amazing driver. He brings huge amounts to the team, both in his feedback and his ability. So, for us, of course it's important. I'm pretty confident that Fernando is enjoying his time with us and that we will continue with our relationship."
Gabriel Bortoleto says he does not agree with criticism of the 2026 Formula 1 regulations that the fastest drivers are no longer inherently quick, arguing the leading names are still competitive despite complaints about the impact of electric energy recharging on racing. Bortoleto said: "Do you see Verstappen being slow? Do you see a seven-time world champion being slow this year? Do you see Leclerc being slow? I don't see them being slow. I still see them very competitive. So I wouldn't say fast drivers are slow."
F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali says Hockenheim has made first contact with Formula 1 about bringing a German race back, but any return would be a medium- to long-term project rather than an immediate calendar addition. Domenicali said: "Germany, for the first time, we are reconnecting with the possibility of having contact with the Hockenheim people to see if, in the future, mid-term, not short-term, they can have a race back."
Williams boss James Vowles says his team should have given Carlos Sainz clearer information about Oscar Piastri approaching under blue flags in the Hungarian Grand Prix, and believes Fernando Alonso should have let Piastri through earlier before Sainzâs collision with the then-race leader. Vowles said: "What we did do is communicate to Carlos into turn one that Oscar was coming. What we should have done, because ultimately we're still racing for a non-point scoring position, is indicate to Carlos that that was happening at the point where he was alongside Fernando on the run down to turn two. So that's what I mean by it's our culpability. But it wasn't an attempt to go and block Oscar or otherwise. Actually in this circumstance there was another car that was the car behind [Alonso] and that should have probably conceded before we did."
Charles Leclerc says the complexity of Formula 1âs new regulations means drivers can no longer simply look at the data to identify where to find lap time, with power unit set-up adding too many variables. Leclerc said: "And that's why it's so difficult with these cars; there are so many different variables that it's not like in the past, where you could look at the data and say, 'This is clearly where I'm losing, this is clearly what I've got to change with my driving'. If you are changing your driving, but the programming is going the other way, you end up being a lot worse than what you were at first."
Isack Hadjar says Max Verstappenâs race management is âon a different levelâ to his, and is the main area he is focusing on improving in his first season with Red Bull. Hadjar said: "I would say Max has been very impressive on Sundays, all around. I think my one-lap pace has been pretty good, but how well he is managing the races is on a different level, so that's what I'm focusing on working on."
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella says the team was not informed about Ferrariâs filming day at the Madring, the new home of the Spanish Grand Prix, and that any advantage from running there first is unlikely to matter once the race weekend begins. Stella said: "We were not informed that Ferrari would have had this session in Madrid. So possibly a little bit of an advantage. I think after a few laps in Madrid, we will have forgotten about that, and we will just get along with just focusing on the race weekend, so not a big deal."
Kimi Antonelli says he let the pressure âdestroyâ him during a difficult spell in the European leg of his 2025 rookie season at Mercedes. Antonelli said: "I think mostly last year I felt this, because obviously I've had a good start of the season, then I've had a difficult period, the European season, where I really struggle. And in that moment I felt⌠I let the pressure kind of destroy me as well during that period, because I felt like I was letting down so many people who had believed in me â especially Toto [Wolff], because he was the main one who took the decision."
Racing Bulls driver Arvid Lindblad says he never had a plan B because he always believed he would become a Formula 1 driver. Lindblad said: "No. Never. Because in my mind, plan A was always going to work. Even when I was five or six years old, I simply couldn't picture a future where I wasn't a Formula 1 driver. It wasn't even a possibility in my head. Maybe that's also why I never felt intimidated by expectations. A lot of people are frightened by such a huge ambition. I honestly never was."
Mercedes deputy technical director Simone Resta says the team will focus on a âsizeableâ upgrade package for its 2026 Formula 1 car after the summer break. Resta said: "We always try to keep bringing little steps here and there at every race. Of course, we have seen teams bringing more stuff than us, which is great for them, and we are still trying to bring some items at every race. Probably, after the shutdown, we will try to focus on having something more sizeable on the car. So, we are clearly focused on trying to develop the car at every event, but also trying to think bigger by bringing another step to the car."
Pierre Gasly says Alpine's planned Dutch Grand Prix upgrade package is "critical" if the team wants to keep hope of holding on to fifth place in the championship after being outdeveloped by midfield rivals. Gasly said: "Standard of Formula 1, I think if you bring upgrades you expect it to definitely get better. On my side, I'm not doubting that it's going to do what the team expect, but as you say it's important because Aston Martin improved by two seconds this weekend, they have another engine coming [in Zandvoort], Racing Bulls improved by seconds in the start of the year, Audi as well. We just didn't do much steps, so I think it's critical for us if we want to keep the hope for that fifth place in the championship."
FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis says the FIA anticipated many of the issues drivers raised after the Belgian Grand Prix about the 2026 cars, but could not make pre-season rule tweaks because manufacturers would not back the changes under F1âs governance process. Tombazis said: "I think drivers are, by definition, quite demanding clients. So I don't think we expect them to have a sugar coat or to not speak their mind. We did anticipate a lot of these things they have complained about in the two years before the launch of the season, and we did try to make some adjustments. But we failed with the governance that was in place."
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur says the âmost important thingâ in the teamâs push to mount a constructorsâ championship challenge is sustaining its development rate through the second half of the season. Vasseur said: "We have a different approach, trying to bring parts every single race, and we have to keep this momentum because it's still 11 or 12 races to go... and we have room for improvement on the chassis everywhere, and we have to keep this pace. The most important thing would be to be able to keep the pace on the development."
Aston Martin team principal Adrian Newey says changes to the âtea trayâ area at the front of the floor are the key aerodynamic challenge for teams under Formula 1âs tweaked 2027 rules. Newey said: "On the chassis side, the changes are fewer but still significant. The biggest is to what's often called the 'bib' or 'tea tray' at the front of the floor. The leading edge has been moved by about 300 millimetres, which allows you to run the front of the car lower. That brings a different set of aerodynamic characteristics. The key one for us is that frontâofâfloor change. It gives everyone a different aero challenge to solve."
Red Bull technical director Pierre WachĂŠ said âmechanical gremlinsâ in the RB22âs steering meant the drivers could not properly feel the car through the wheel in the opening rounds of the 2026 season. WachĂŠ said: "Regarding the issue with the car at the beginning, clearly we were missing some load compared to some others. We also had some mechanical gremlins on the car, which meant the driver didn't feel the car through the steering, and we corrected that at the beginning. It took a little bit of time, but it was on top of the overall performance and potential of the car. We had some issues with driver feeling there. It's not a secret."
Mattia Binotto says Audi has set itself the target of fighting for championships by 2030, with the team needing time to close what he described as âhugeâ gaps to the front in areas such as infrastructure and resources. Binotto said: "We've set an objective of 2030, so our objective is to aim for a championship fight in 2030. It may seem very far away, very distant, but, as a matter of fact, if you look at the gaps I was mentioning, it will take a long time. Certainly, 2030 is coming very soon. But it's a full business transformation for us, and we need to be patient. I think that's the key."
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